The ambassador of the United States of America (US) in Pretoria on Thursday accused South Africa of providing military support to Russia, despite its declared neutrality in the conflict with Ukraine.
According to Reuben Brigety, speaking at a meeting with local media, the United States is convinced “Weapons and ammunition were loaded” aboard a Russian freighter, which docked near Cape Town in early December “before leaving for Russia”.
“Arming the Russians is extremely serious and we think this problem is unsolved. We would like to see South Africa implement its policy of non-alignment,” the diplomat added during the press conference.
His statements were confirmed to Agence France-Presse by a source present at the meeting. But the US embassy, contacted by the news agency, would not confirm or deny the statements.
When asked about the reliability of US information about the ship’s cargo, Ambassador Reuben Brigety said it was sound.
The fact that the ship docked at the country’s largest naval base, Simon’s Town, on the Cape Peninsula, sparked controversy in the country before Christmas.
South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), asked the government to explain how a Russian freighter, the target of Western sanctions, was allowed to dock at a port in the country.
Defense affairs chief Kobus Marais questioned why the cargo ship docked at a military port rather than a commercial one, and “why is there so much secrecy” surrounding the matter.
South Africa has so far not taken sides in the conflict since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, a war that led to broad Western sanctions.
Source: DN
